Protective garment

ABSTRACT

A protective garment ( 10, 50, 60, 70 ) for protecting at least a wearer&#39;s lower leg and foot from at least one of dirt, debris and moisture, the protective garment comprising two tubular leg portions ( 12 ), each having an upper end ( 18 ) and a lower end ( 26 ), the tubular leg portions ( 12, 52, 62, 76 ) having an enclosed circumference within which one of the wearer&#39;s leg is receivable, the tubular leg portions having a protective outer surface on at least a frontward side thereof; and a foot covering portion ( 24 ) which extends outwardly from the lower end ( 26 ) of each of the tubular leg portions on the frontward side thereof to cover at least a majority of an upper surface of the wearer&#39;s foot, the foot covering portion ( 24 ) being self-supporting and being free from fastening straps, such that the foot covering portion ( 24 ) rests on top of the wearer&#39;s foot ( 30 ) without being fastened thereto.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of PCT/CA2008/000665 filedJul. 4, 2008, which claims priority on U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 60/910,371 filed Apr. 5, 2007, the entire contents ofboth of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to outerwear garments, such asone-piece suits, pants, chaps, leggings and the like. Particularly, thepresent invention relates to a garment providing protection of at leastthe lower legs and feet of a wearer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Protective outerwear garments exist in a variety of different forms, andare used for an equally large variety of applications. Protectivetrousers and pants, for example, are used by workers in a number offields in order to protect both the user's own legs and their clothing.

Certain specific activities tend to particularly cause damage and/orcause user's clothes and shoes to become wet, dirty, etc. One suchactivity is cutting, trimming or “weed wacking” grass and other foliage,during which the user's shoes and legs tend to become wet, messy, moistand/or dirty from the grass and vegetation clippings created. Further,if larger plants or foliage are being cleared, there exists the riskcausing injury to the user's leg, if no protective garments are worn.Another such activity is painting, during which one's shoes can becomesplattered with paint even if protective trousers or suits are worn.

Accordingly, there exists a need to provide an improved protectivegarment which will help protect at least the lower legs and shoes of awearer, particularly during such activities as painting, and cutting andtrimming grass and other foliage, for example using a lawn mower, a“weed wacker”, and the like. Improvements are thus needed in order toprovide a new and improved type of lightweight, low cost, lower leg andfoot covering and protecting outerwear garment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an improvedprotective garment.

Therefore, in accordance with a first broad aspect, there is provided aprotective garment for protecting at least a wearer's lower leg and footfrom at least one of dirt, debris and moisture, the protective garmentcomprising two tubular leg portions, each having an upper end and alower end, the tubular leg portions having an enclosed circumferencewithin which one of the wearer's leg is receivable, the tubular legportions having a protective outer surface on at least a frontward sidethereof, and a foot covering portion which extends outwardly from thelower end of each of the tubular leg portions on the frontward sidethereof to cover at least a majority of an upper surface of the wearer'sfoot, the foot covering portion being self-supporting and being freefrom fastening straps, such that the foot covering portion rests on topof the wearer's foot without being fastened thereto.

In accordance with a second broad aspect, there is provided a protectivegarment for preventing at least one of dirt, debris and moisture fromcoming into contact with at least lower legs and foot of a wearer, theprotective garment comprising two protective sleeves, each enveloping atleast a wearer's ankle and a wearer's lower leg, at least a frontsection of each one of the protective sleeves being made of a protectivematerial; and a foot covering portion connected to a lower end of eachone of the protective sleeves and extending along a wearer's foot, thefoot covering portion covering at least a majority of the wearer's foot,the foot covering portion being self-supporting and being free frommechanical fasteners in order to stay in position on top of the wearer'sfoot.

In accordance with a third broad aspect, there is provided a garment forprotecting a wearer's shoe and at least a wearer's lower leg, thegarment comprising two leg covering members, each covering at least afront portion of a wearer's ankle and a wearer's lower leg; and a footprotector connected to a lower end of each one the two leg coveringmembers, the foot protector covering at least a majority of a forepartof a wearer's shoe, the foot protector being structurallyself-supporting and configured to retain its shape and remain in placeon a top surface of the wearer's shoe without being fastened thereto

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in combinationwith the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side perspective view of a right-leg protective leggingin accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 2 shows a front view of a pair of the protective leggings of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 shows a rear view of the protective leggings of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial view of a lower, foot-covering portion of one of theprotective leggings of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front view of a pair of protective trousers in accordancewith an alternate embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a pair of protective overalls inaccordance with an alternate embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a protective one-piece suit inaccordance with an alternate embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the protective garment 10 in accordance withone embodiment comprises two protective leggings 11, of which only theright-leg legging is visible in FIG. 1. The protective garment 10constitutes a lower body protective garment which helps to protect andkeep clean and dry at least the lower legs and the feet/shoes of awearer. The protective garment 10 comprises, as best seen in FIG. 2, apair of separate protective leggings 11, namely one for the right legand one for the left leg of the user. In this embodiment, the separateleggings 11 are not attached together or otherwise inter-engaged in anyway. Each is separately put on by the wearer.

In this embodiment, unlike many chaps and/or other leg protectiongarments which exist, each of the leggings 11 wraps around the entirecircumference of the wearer's leg, i.e. it is not an open-backed type ofchap, but rather each is an enclosed pant leg. As such, each of theleggings 11 is formed by tubular leg portions which have an enclosedcircumference. Existing chaps typically cover only the front portions ofthe wearer's legs, and thus have open-backs which require a number ofstraps, buckles, etc. to close and to fasten the chaps in place on one'sleg. The protective leggings 10 however completely encircle the wearer'slegs, from a point near the midpoint or upper end of the wearer's thigh.In this embodiment, the protective garment 10 thus constitutes onlylower-body protection.

In contrast, each of the leggings 11 of the protective garment 10includes leg portions 12, which are tubular and full-circumference, andtherefore resemble more like detached pant legs which the user will haveto put their feet through and pull up in order to put them on. At leastthe frontward facing side of the tubular leg portions 12 have aprotective outer surface and/or or made of a material which ispreferably lightweight, waterproof and relatively flexible, such as tobe comfortable to wear. Any suitable material may be used, howeverpreferably is one of relatively good resistance to wear and tear, giventhat grass, sticks, and other materials may be projected thereon by amower, weed wacker, or other device which the wearer may be operating.The material may also be breathable in order to make the leggings morecomfortable for wear outside in warm weather. Both the front (i.e.covering the front of the wearer's leg) and back (i.e. covering the backof the wearer's leg) sides of the leg portions 12 may be made of thesame material, however alternately the back side may be made of adifferent material, for example one which is perhaps less protective,waterproof, and/or more breathable. As best seen in FIG. 3, the rear ofthe leg portions 12 may be provided with an opening 14 along a portionof their length, the opening 14 being preferably covered with a mesh orscreen-type material 16, or alternately another material which is morebreathable than that of the main surfaces of the leg portions 12. Themesh 16 is advantageous as it allows improved ventilation andbreathability, while nonetheless preventing insects from easily beingable to bit the wearer's legs. It is to be understood that the meshcovered opening 14 in the back surface of the leg portions 12 may belarger or smaller, as required.

As best seen in FIGS. 1-3, at the upper end 18 of each of the legportions 12 is provided an attachment member 20 used to removably fastenthe legging 11 to an article of clothing of the wearer, such as a beltfor example. In at least one embodiment, this attachment member 20includes a single strap 21 which extends upwards and is wrapped aroundthe wearer's belt and then fastened to the outer surface of the side ofthe legging, such as by using a Velcro™ type releasable attachment 22having one part disposed on the inside of the strap 21 and the othermating part disposed on the outer surface of the side of the legging.Although in the present embodiment the attachment member 20 is disposedon the outer sides of each of the leg portions 12, they can be similarlylocated further toward the front or back of each of the leg portions 11.The strap 21 is preferably integrally formed with the material of theleg portions 12, however could also be made of a separate strap materialwhich is fastened in place on the upper end 18 of the leg portions 12.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, each of the protective leggings 11includes a foot or shoe covering portion 24, which is fixed to a lowerend 26 of the leg portions 12. In one embodiment, the foot coveringportion 24 has a greater rigidity than that of the leg portion 12 andoffers a greater protection that does the outer surface of the legportion 12. Alternatively, both the foot covering portion 24 and the legportion 12 have the same rigidity and offer a comparable protection.They can either be made of the same material or of different materials.The foot covering portion 24 extends outwardly from the base of the pantleg portion 12 in order to cover at least a majority of the instep ofthe wearer's foot. Preferably, the foot covering portion 24 extendscompletely the length of the wearer's foot, such as to reach to or justover the toes (or more specifically the tips of the shoes) of thewearer. Alternatively, the foot covering portion 24 covers completelythe forepart of the wearer's shoe, including a part of the shoe's sole.However, the foot covering portion 24 is not attached to the wearer'sshoe at any location, but remains in place thereon due to its selfsupporting structure as described further below. The foot coveringportion can also cover and protect the rear part of the wearer's foot,including the heel by descending completely to the ground levelproximate the wearer's heel. The foot covering portion 24 is selfsupporting, in that it retains its shape and structure without requiringit to be fastened, such as be straps or the like, directly to thewearer's foot. In at least one embodiment, the foot covering portion 24comprises a more padded material relative to that of the pant legportions 12. Alternately, a rigid, or semi-rigid reinforcing insert maybe provided within the enclosed material of the foot covering portion24, in order to provide improved protection and resistance to impacts,etc. For example, the reinforcing insert can be a plate having a formadapted to cover at least the forepart of the wearer's foot and to beself-supporting. This plate can be made of any rigid or semi-rigidmaterial such as plastic, composites, metal or any combination thereof.In this case, the reinforcing plate offers a greater rigidity than thatof the remainder of the foot covering portion 24. In one embodiment, thereinforcing insert is removable from the enclosed material. The cut andshape of the panels making up the foot portion 24 are also preferablyformed such that the overlying foot portion 24 of the leggings 11retains its shape and remains substantially in place on top of the shoeor boot 30 of the wearer, as seen in FIG. 4. Thus, the foot coveringportion 24 is retained in place, without the need of any fasteningmeans, such as heel, instep or toe straps for example. The foot coveringportion therefore merely sits on top of the instep of the wearer's foot,permitting a good range of motion and freedom of movement for thewearer's foot, angle and leg.

Given the relative simplicity of the protective leggings 10, the lack ofa multitude of fastening straps required to keep them in place, as wellas their flexibility and light weight, these protective leggings aremuch more comfortable and less complex and time consuming to put-on,take-off and wear.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a protective garment 50 in the form of a pairof trousers of an alternate embodiment is shown. The protective garment50 comprises two leg portions 52 connected together at the level of awearer's crotch. A pelvis covering portion 54 covers at least the frontsurface of the wearer's pelvis and is connected to each one of the legportions 52. Alternatively, the pelvis covering portion 54 can coverboth the front and back surfaces of the wearer's pelvis. Each one of thetwo leg portions 52 is provided with a self-supporting foot coveringportion 24. The foot covering portion 24 is exactly as that describedabove with respect to the leggings 10. The leg portions 52 are tubularto completely encircle a wearer's legs. The rear of the leg portions 52may be provided with an opening along a portion of their length and thisopening can be covered with a breathable material. Any mechanicalfastening means, such as a belt, a strap, a zipper, buttons, etc, can beused to fasten the protective garment 50 on the wearer.

FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment of a protective garment having theform of an apron or overall 60. The overall 60 comprises two legportions 62 and a bib 64 which covers at least part of the wearer'storso. The leg portions 62 are tubular to completely encircle thewearer's legs. The protective garment 60 is provided with aself-supporting foot covering portion 24 at the end of each legportions. The foot covering portion 24 is exactly as that describedabove with respect to the leggings 10. The bib 64 covers at least afront portion of the wearer's chest and can also cover a portion of thewearer's back. A pair of suspenders 66 extend over a wearer's shouldersare used to fasten the overall 60 in place. Alternatively, a neck strapcan be used in replacement of the suspenders 66. The rear of the overall60 can be made of a material being less resistant than the front.Additionally, openings can be provided in the rear side of the overall60 and these openings can be covered by a breathable material.

FIG. 7 illustrates a one-piece suit protective garment 70 according toanother embodiment. The protective garment 70 comprises a trunk coveringportion 72, two arm covering portions 74 and two leg portions 76. Thecovering portions 72, 74, and 76 are connected together such that theassembly form a one piece suit such as an overall. The trunk coveringportion 72 covers both the chest and the back of the wearer. Each one ofthe arm covering portions 74 and the leg covering portions 76 is tubularto completely encircle the wearer's arm and leg, respectively, and thearm covering portions 74 cover at least a portion of the wearer's arms.The protective garment 70 is provided with a foot covering portion 24 atthe end of each leg portions 76. The foot covering portion 24 is exactlyas that described above with respect to the leggings 10.

The embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 offer a greater protectionto the wearer in comparison to the protective leggings 10 and trousers50 as they also cover at least part of the wearer's chest. For example,the one-piece suit protective garment 70 can be used to protect entirelythe wearer from paint splashes.

The embodiments described above are intended to be exemplary. Thoseskilled in the art will therefore appreciate that the forgoingdescription is illustrative only, and that various alternatives andmodifications can be devised without departing from the presentinvention as defined in the claims. Accordingly, the present is intendedto embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fallwithin the scope of the appended claims.

1. A protective garment for protecting at least a wearer's lower leg andfoot from at least one of dirt, debris and moisture, the protectivegarment comprising: two tubular leg portions, each having an upper endand a lower end, the tubular leg portions having an enclosedcircumference within which one of the wearer's leg is receivable, thetubular leg portions having a protective outer surface on at least afrontward side thereof; and a foot covering portion which extendsoutwardly from the lower end of each of the tubular leg portions on thefrontward side thereof to cover at least a majority of an upper surfaceof the wearer's foot, the foot covering portion being self-supportingand being free from fastening straps, such that the foot coveringportion rests on top of the wearer's foot without being fastenedthereto.
 2. The protective garment as defined in claim 1, wherein thefoot covering portion has a rigidity that is greater than that of thetubular leg portions.
 3. The protective garment as defined in claim 1,wherein the foot covering portion providing greater protection that doesthe protective outer surface of the tubular leg portions.
 4. Theprotective garment as defined in claim 3, wherein the foot coveringportion is padded.
 5. The protective garment as defined in claim 3,wherein the foot covering portion extends from a wearer's ankle towearer's toes and also covers part of a front and lateral surface of thewearer's foot.
 6. The protective garment as defined in claim 2, whereinthe foot covering portion comprises a reinforcing member disposedtherein, the reinforcing member having a form adapted to cover at leastthe majority of the upper surface of the wearer's foot.
 7. Theprotective garment as claimed in claim 6, wherein the reinforcing memberincludes a plate having a rigidity greater than that of a remainder ofthe foot covering portion.
 8. The protective garment as claimed in claim1, wherein the two protective leggings are independent the one of theother and each one of the two protective leggings further comprises asingle fastening strap.
 9. The protective garment as claimed in claim 8,wherein the single fastening strap is integrally formed with the upperend of the tubular leg portion, the fastening strap being adapted to bewrapped around an article of clothing of the wearer and being removablyfastened to the upper end of the leg portion, in order to removablyfasten the protective legging in place on the wearer's leg.
 10. Theprotective garment as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a pelviscovering portion connected to the upper end of the tubular leg portions,the tubular leg portions being connected together at a level of awearer's crotch, the pelvis covering portion and the protective leggingsforming a pair of trousers.
 11. The protective garment as claimed inclaim 10, further comprising a bib connected to the pelvis coveringportion, the bib covering at least a portion of a wearer's chest. 12.The protective garment as claimed in claim 10, further comprising atrunk covering portion connected to an upper end of the pelvis coveringportion, the trunk covering portion covering a wearer's chest and awearer's back.
 13. The protective garment as claimed in claim 12,further comprising two arm covering portions connected to the trunkcovering portion, each arm covering portion extending from the trunkcovering portion to cover at least a portion of a wearer's arm.
 14. Aprotective garment for preventing at least one of dirt, debris andmoisture from coming into contact with at least lower legs and foot of awearer, the protective garment comprising: two protective sleeves, eachenveloping at least a wearer's ankle and a wearer's lower leg, at leasta front section of each one of the protective sleeves being made of aprotective material; and a foot covering portion connected to a lowerend of each one of the protective sleeves and extending along a wearer'sfoot, the foot covering portion covering at least a majority of thewearer's foot, the foot covering portion being self-supporting and beingfree from mechanical fasteners in order to stay in position on top ofthe wearer's foot.
 15. The protective garment as defined in claim 14,wherein the foot covering portion has a rigidity that is greater thanthat of the protective sleeves.
 16. The protective garment as defined inclaim 14, wherein the foot covering portion provides greater protectionthat does the front section of the protective sleeves.
 17. Theprotective garment as defined in claim 16, wherein the foot coveringportion is padded.
 18. The protective garment as defined in claim 16,wherein the foot covering portion comprises a reinforcing memberdisposed therein.
 19. The protective garment as claimed in claim 18,wherein the reinforcing member includes a plate having a rigiditygreater than that of a remainder of the foot covering portion.
 20. Agarment for protecting a wearer's shoe and at least a wearer's lowerleg, the garment comprising: two leg covering members, each covering atleast a front portion of a wearer's ankle and a wearer's lower leg; anda foot protector connected to a lower end of each one the two legcovering members, the foot protector covering at least a majority of aforepart of a wearer's shoe, the foot protector being structurallyself-supporting and configured to retain its shape and remain in placeon a top surface of the wearer's shoe without being fastened thereto.21. The garment as defined in claim 20, wherein the foot protector has arigidity that is greater than that of the leg covering members.
 22. Thegarment as defined in claim 20, wherein the foot protector providesgreater protection that does the leg covering members.
 23. The garmentas defined in claim 22, wherein the foot protector is padded.
 24. Thegarment as defined in claim 22, wherein the foot protector comprises areinforcing member disposed therein.
 25. The garment as claimed in claim24, wherein the reinforcing member includes a plate having a rigiditygreater than that of a remainder of the foot protector.